Spectra

These generous, penetrating, relentlessly sonic poems record the creative potential of the body and the boundaries of the self. Maximal in content and minimal in production, Spectra is razor-sharp in its interrogation of the domestic sphere. The thud and drone of language evokes the suffocation of a marriage gone sour with a sound that bounces back, creating patterns that are an inhibiting force in themselves. There's a pulse to her poems, one that harnesses the energy on the page to transcend binaries and boundaries of the self. There's nothing soft-focus about them.Ashley Toliver is the author of the chapbook Ideal Machine. Her work has been supported by fellowships from Oregon Literary Arts, Cave Canem, and the Academy of American Poets. She received her MFA from Brown University in 2013.